First of all, I am wishing you all a Happy New Year, especially those who are our partners in the advocacy. I hope that you are all enjoying this day with your family and loved ones.

While we are doing ASEAN activities, we did not forget one of our most important programs, which is mentoring. Go Negosyo partnered with two government agencies to help micro and small entrepreneurs in different regions. For our Kapatid Mentor ME, we partnered with Sec. Ramon Lopez and the Department of Trade and Industry. For this year, we reached 16 regions covering 92 provinces and cities throughout the year. We are glad to share that we produced more than 2,000 graduates this year in the KMME program.

As for our Kapatid Agri Mentor Me program in partnership with Sec. Manny Piñol and the Department of Agriculture, we have reached 13 regions with 26 batches this year. The attendees of the KAMMP included presidents and treasurers of farm cooperatives and, by the end of this year, we succeeded in training close to 400 agriculture associations and cooperatives.

By 2018, we hope to produce more graduates through our Kapatid Mentor ME Program and Kapatid Agri Mentor ME Program. We have more than 500 mentors already who have devoted time and effort just to guide and assist our micro and small entrepreneurs. Next year, we will help more MSMEs experience growth and prosperity!